The Game of Time
by Pixen
Summary: Following the events of the Phantom Child...
1. Prologue: What Happened to the Mouse?

A short while after Mewtwo had teleported away with Mew and Celebi in psychic tow, the sprinklers dousing the entire laboratory floor faltered and stopped their deluge. A sudden eerie silence fell.

Slowly, the humans clustered around the room staggered upright, looking around carefully and treading gingerly up the short staircase onto higher, dryer ground.

"The specimens are all gone." a man said grimly, the disappointment in his voice obvious.

"I don't understand." Lovrina said, pouting. "You told me Kitty would stay like that forever! But he changed back for no reason!" Her lower lip began to quiver. "My beautiful XD002!" she wailed, her hands tugging at her saturated pigtails.

"We need to leave, Miss." he continued. "Cipher's security and anonymity have been completely compromised now. They... may come back with extra force."

Lovrina glared around the room, her gaze fixing upon the destroyed shadow machine. "None of this was meant to happen like it did."

"We'll regroup, and try again." another man said, his voice reassuring. "XD002 was a fluke discovery from the beginning. We hadn't planned in advance."

"I want a stronger one." she said, turning towards the exit door. "I want XD003."

"We'll make it happen, Miss."

Her peons followed her out the door. The last one in line halted for a moment, his attention casting back to the tray of empty pokéballs sitting on a shelf. Then, realising he was being left behind - and they were impossible to reach without putting himself at risk of electrocution - flipped his hand in a dismissive gesture and forgot about them. Pokéballs were only P200 apiece after all.

If in fact they had all been empty...

* * *

Merely moments later the only echoing sounds in the laboratory were the constant dripping of water from a leaking sprinkler and the occasional fizz of a loose broken wire at the machine.

The tray holding the pokéballs was already deep in water. One pokéball sparked, its electronics shorting out, and activated its failsafe release protocol.

Before the pokéball died completely, it opened; releasing the last shadow pokémon left.

* * *

Shadow Pikachutwo came to on the sodden, electrified floor. The cold water was up to her haunches and her fur immediately absorbed it, sending a chill down her spine.

_I hate this place._

_I hate water._

_I hate everything._

_What is going on? Where is everybody? Why am I alone?_

_Where is something to kill?_

Pikachutwo screamed wordlessly in rage and frustration, her body zapping with purple electricity which spread over the whole waterlogged floor. The electricity intensified, prickling at her feet almost painfully. This only served to increase her rage; ending with Pikachutwo stuck in a vicious cycle of attacking with more and more electricity.

And still the water dripped.

* * *

Minutes, hours, (days?) later, the door opened. Pikachutwo turned at the sound, her eyes hazed over in blood red fury, her feet and haunches singed so much the fur had turned black and in some places had begun to fall off.

"Oh Gods." a voice said. "We've got a live one. Over."

"Capture on, Ranger. Over and out." _*bzzt*_

The electronic sound ripped through her ears. _Finally. Something to kill._

Pikachutwo raised her arms where she stood, and brought all her chaotic electricity into her cheeks. "Pika-CHU!" she screamed, lashing out with a vicious thunderbolt towards the shadowy figure at the door.

Something she hadn't noticed before at the human's feet leaped to intercept the attack - leaped right in front of it - and absorbed it completely.

The human behind it gasped in relief. "Thanks, Neutri."

"Neu!" it replied, crouching on the floor and shuddering slightly in reaction to the amount of power in the attack.

"My turn."

Pikachutwo saw a trail of light whisk up into the air and zoom towards her. "Pi-KA!" she yelped in surprise and fear, attacking it with more electricity. But the thing effortlessly evaded the attack with a rapid twist through the air and looped back to continue its progress towards her. Before Pikachutwo knew it, the light was circling her time and time again, each loop shrinking upon itself until her body was absorbing it.

It hurt so much.

_I want to help you. Please._

Someone was talking to her in her mind. That hurt even more.

_"Go away!"_ she roared, and wildly flailed out at the loops of light with her tail. She batted at the small flying creature making the light and felt it connect with her paw's palm in extreme satisfaction.

She heard an electronic sound of alarm and a quick curse from the human. "Nngh! One more hit like that and I'm done!"

"Status report? Over."

"It's gone into hyper mode! Over."

The voice on the other side of the radio sighed. "There's nothing for it. It's practically impossible to link with a hyper mode shadow pokémon. You'll have to use a pokéball. Over."

"I don't like it." the human grumbled. "Over and out." He fished in his pocket. "Neutri, can you defend us for a second?"

"Neu!"

_So much pain. Too many words._

"Oh! This might do the trick instead."

_"Shut up!"_ Pikachutwo shouted, lashing out again with electricity. Neutri barked in response and stood firm. The attack lanced towards the human and his pokémon but then bounced off an invisible barrier and dissipated into the air.

Pikachutwo shut her eyes and readied herself for another attack but then heard the distinct sound of smashing glass from right in front of her. A pungent scent rose from the liquid spreading through the water. Surprised, Pikachutwo opened her eyes and looked down at the smashed bottle and visibly yellow not-water. She sniffed deeper and felt her mind clear slightly and remember.

It smelled like the mountain. It smelled like the wind through the grass and the rich loam of the cavern. It smelled like the food eaten after drinking from the crystal clear lake water.

It smelled like home.

She paused and shut her eyes again, lost in the moment, the pain of her body slightly faded.

Light again swirled round her field of vision. Something tickled at her fur.

_Please, Pikachu, let me help you. Let us help you. That's all I want._

Was that it? Really? But her name wasn't Pikachu. That belonged to the original pikachu. She was only a copy. A shadow. She'd wished her entire life for a bright future, a bright world, and to be free in it... but that had remained ever out of her grasp.

And then the other human had told her that she could be strengthened further in the shadows, and when it had seemed the only thing left to do Pikachutwo had surrendered to it and given up her dream - but the human had lied after all, and Pikachutwo had even lost that special unique part of herself, and she had become nothing. Nothing at all. It only proved that humans were never to be trusted.

_You CAN trust me. I want to be your friend._

"Pika!" she cried, bent over and huddled on the floor, the water now uncomfortably seeping into her chest fur.

_You're hurting really bad, and I can't stand seeing you in so much pain. I'll help you feel better, and then we can find you a new home. I promise._

The human was too far in - knowing every thought that passed through Pikachutwo's mind. Was that what that light had done?

_Who are you? Why do you want to help me?_

_I'm Ben. I'm a pokémon ranger. That's what we do, that's our job: to help pokémon._

_I'm not a pokémon. I'm only a copy._

_I don't know what you mean. When I look at you and talk to you I see and hear a pokémon. A real one._

_You know nothing._ Pikachutwo spat. _I hate you._

_Nonetheless. I can get you out of here. Will you let me help you?_

Another loop of light sunk in. He was telling the truth. Pikachutwo let her body grow limp upon the floor. _Fine._

"Capture complete." Ben murmured in relief.

When she felt strong warm arms enfold her body and cradle her close, Pikachutwo closed her eyes. _Please, let it all be over soon..._

* * *

They were in the air for a time, the air crisp and cold and whistling shrilly as they battled through its unseen currents. Pikachutwo let the hypnotic motion and sound of beating wings lull her into a hazy half-sleep, feeling Ben's heartbeat even through his uniform.

She stirred as they came in for a rather bumpy landing, poking her head out of his arms and looking in surprise at the verdant landscape of a sleepy little village.

"My thanks, pidgeot." Ben said after carefully dismounting, stroking under its flowing head crest in farewell.

The pidgeot trilled a reply and waited until they had walked a little way off before taking off in one powerful sweep of its wings, soon vanishing into the low cloud cover on its way back home.

After briefly walking in to a human construct and talking to another human, Ben strode onwards through the town, down the many small hills and inclines and circling around here and there until they were bathed in the serene shade of an underground passage. Water trickled musically underneath the log walkway in a small river.

The human sighed. "It's always so peaceful here..."

From a comfortable pocket on the outside of his backpack, Neutri mewed her agreement.

The tunnel led them into a place of dappled sunlight. Struck by sudden curiosity, Pikachutwo craned her head around to come into view of an immense stone shrine placed in the centre of the clearing. She stared at it, wide-eyed, uncaring as Ben gripped her under the arms and set her down upon the first stone level.

"You're one lucky pikachu." Ben said. "This is the last time flute I've got."

* * *

Celebi heard the musical summons from her special place outside of time. Her eyelids shot open in surprise.

_How did it reach me here? This place doesn't even have a when!_

Nevertheless. She was needed. Celebi flew up into the air, opened a time ripple and aimed it for the heart of Relic Forest.

* * *

Ben lowered the flute from his lips and waited, holding his breath. When the air above the shrine began to fragment and sparkle, as if it was being pushed out and warped slightly by some other force, he sighed in relief and wonderment.

Celebi soon flew from the ripple, shining powerfully with green coloured energy. It aimed for Pikachutwo, circling around the battered pokémon three times until she was completely bathed in the healing aura.

~Open your heart, Pikachutwo.~

Pikachutwo gaped at the name. _"You know me?"_

~Of course I do. I am Celebi; I know everyone.~

Pikachutwo opened her heart to Celebi. _"Can you take me home?"_

~Yes.~

_"Where is my home?"_

The green pokémon fluttered down and landed on the stone level. Folding her wings up, Celebi sat down in a cross legged position and faced Pikachutwo.

~Where do you want it to be?~

Pikachutwo told Celebi. The more she described, the wider Celebi's smile got.

_"Do you know a place like that?"_

~I do. And I can take you there now, if you like.~

_"Please."_ Pikachutwo said.

Celebi turned to the time ripple, gesturing at it. ~This can now take us there. ~

Pikachutwo turned back to thank the human for his help before departing with Celebi - but he was already gone. She found herself sighing softly in disappointment and sadness. After all the hatred and rage, she did really feel like showing her gratitude to him somehow.

~Rangers don't believe in overly long goodbyes,~ Celebi explained, surrounding Pikachutwo in psychic energy and lifting her into the air. ~Don't take it personally. He knows how you feel now you have been healed both in body and mind thanks to the link, I'm sure.~

Pikachutwo mulled over this in silence, as Celebi took her hand and flew the both of them right into the time ripple. Once they'd fully entered the time stream, though, Pikachutwo was far too distracted by the highly unsettling sensations around her both visual and aural, to wonder any more about the pokémon ranger. She found herself squeezing Celebi's hand for comfort when they seemed to increase their speed through the cylindrical tunnel of swirling rainbow patterns.

~Not long now,~ Celebi said calmly.

The pair flew out of the time stream into a green, bright world. Pikachutwo gasped, a shiver running down her spine. "It's beautiful. Where is this?"

Celebi chuckled as they descended towards an empty pasture. ~Not where, but when. You wanted to find somewhere where there are no pokéballs. Here in this _when_, you are completely free from them. You wanted to find a place where pokémon are more respected. Here, pokémon are known only as magical creatures and our powers are held in very high regard. You wanted a place that you could truly feel a part of. Is this that place?~

Pikachutwo alighted upon the springy grass and breathed in the air. Like the perfume's scent from before, it smelled like home.

_"Yes. Yes, this is that place. Th-thank you, Celebi."_

Celebi beamed at her. ~That makes me so happy, especially knowing all you've been through.~

"Rai!"

Startled, Pikachutwo whirled to face the sound. A solitary raichu gambolled across the grass towards the two of them, its tail held high.

_"What should I do?"_ Pikachutwo asked.

~Whatever you feel is right,~ Celebi replied seriously. ~That's your prerogative as a free pokémon.~

_A free pokémon..._ Pikachutwo marvelled. _That's right. I am. I'm free, and I'm a real pokémon._

The raichu slowed his pace as he drew nearer.

_"Greetings."_ he said, a smile on his face. _"My name is Chur."_

_"Hello."_ Pikachutwo replied, guardedly. _"I am Pikachutwo."_

Still on all fours, Chur padded over to Pikachutwo and gently touched noses before retreating a step or two. _"That's a long name,"_ he said.

_"It is?"_ Pikachutwo asked.

Chur nodded, sitting up on his haunches. _"Where are you from? I don't understand what your name means. Something about 'second one'...? I missed the rest."_

Names were meant to have meanings? Mewtwo had just always called her Pikachutwo. It had just been the sound of her name, no meaning at all. And the human who had lied to and tricked her had called her by a name she couldn't even pronounce let alone translate. At a loss, she looked down at the grass between her feet. The first pokémon she had properly met neither clone nor cloned, and her name was totally wrong. She wished that Celebi could have explained this beforehand.

Chur's friendly smile soon drooped into a frown, and he cocked his head to the side, looking concernedly at her. _"Oh. Are you alright? I didn't upset you, did I?"_

_"No!"_ Pikachutwo said, shaking her head for emphasis. _"No, not at all. I'm sorry, I'm... just from a faraway place."_ _That place was never my home... but this place really could be - I can feel it."Chur?"_ she said, suddenly inspired. _"I don't really have a name. Would you give me one?"_

The raichu's eyes widened. _"You'd grant me that honour? But... I don't even know you. How then could I already know your name?"_

_"Just pick anything,"_ Pikachutwo insisted. _"Anything at all. I don't mind."_

Chur looked at her somewhat disapprovingly. _"You are from a faraway place. That's not how it's done here. Where is your father or your mother? Why didn't they already give you a name?"_

Pikachutwo gaped at him. _Father? Mother?_ For words that sounded so familiar, why couldn't she place them into context?

_I am a clone, so I must neither have a father nor a mother. I don't even know what that means but somehow I still miss them... Would Chur even understand if I tried to explain?_

_"They died when I was too young to remember my name."_ she said, figuring it was the best way to describe her situation. Nameless. Homeless. Friendless. She felt her sadness coming to the fore, this time completely unattached to any sort of frustration or anger as it normally would have been. Pikachutwo looked down at the grass next to her, watching as it swayed gently.

Chur surprised her then by stepping completely into her personal space and enfolding her in a warm furry hug. She stayed stiff and tense in his embrace, eyes wide, then felt herself slowly relaxing into it.

_"My heart cries for them, as my eyes cannot."_ he said solemnly, mouth breathing warm at her ear. He held her for another breath and then politely let her go. When Pikachutwo met his gaze again she was surprised to see them glittering in excitement.

_"Run with me."_ Chur said.

Pikachutwo looked behind her to Celebi; but like Ben the human before her, she had vanished without a word. Pikachutwo's gaze and resolve hardened, and she turned back to Chur.

_"Let's run."_

The pair ran at breakneck pace for a few moments, both sets of cheeks sparking static. Pikachutwo felt her body brimming with electricity, almost as if she was being recharged by the sun and wind at her face. As her fur brushed past larger tussocks of grass she felt and heard it crackling in response.

She looked to Chur and saw a somewhat measured look in his eyes as his larger raichu body deliberately kept pace with her.

_He's not running at full speed._

"Playing nice, are you?" she said with a smile.

Chur flashed a cheeky grin back and continued on at the same pace.

_I'll show him._

Pikachutwo jumped into an agility attack and shot away from him; almost bounding across the mild incline. She heard Chur bark excitedly in response and quicken his own pace. Bit by bit she could sense him lessening the distance between them until he'd appeared once more in her peripheral vision, a slightly bug-eyed excited expression on his face. Pikachutwo wouldn't have been surprised to have seen his tongue hanging out.

She kept up the agility's speed until finally her muscles flagged, and she moved slowly and carefully into a gentle lope. Once her body felt relaxed and easy after the run she stretched and flopped down onto the springy fresh grass.

"Chaaaa..."

Chur flopped down next to her, lying on his back, looking up at the endless blue. _"Your name is Sparkling."_ he said, almost offhandedly, into the comfortable silence.

"Pikapika?" she asked. Or pika twice. Pika...two. Two pika? It didn't matter, every pronunciation - even from the different raichu dialect - meant the same thing. She was Sparkling the pikachu.

Sparkling's eyes widened in realisation and hope. Yes, that was her name - it had been her name all along, even though she had never known it. A bright name for a bright world. Not a mere copy. She was unique now, special - named and acknowledged.

_"Thank you."_ she whispered.

Chur blinked a lazy smile. _"You told me your name yourself - just not in words."_ He rolled over slightly and looked at her. _"But the rest of you is still hidden from me. Where did you come from, Sparkling?"_

_"It's a long story."_

_"As long as these summer days?"_ he asked, waving a paw at the sky.

Sparkling paused, and took a moment to look up into the sky's expanse. Had she ever seen such a rich blue colour in her time? The closest had probably been at Mount Quena, where the air was still clean.

She felt her mind clearing further, and suddenly knew where to start.

_"I came from the future."_ she said.


	2. Chapter 1: Avengers Assemble

MEWTWO

_My dearest Amber, _

_I write this letter to you from the lazy shores of Johto, after travelling around my region of Kanto and searching for the Winged Mirages. These legendaries are spoken of in many myths and even eyewitness accounts. I can now happily pronounce them very real guardians, as I have had the honour of speaking to them myself. _

_The first, named Articuno, had a beautiful song. _

Mewtwo paused in his letter writing and felt a small smile appear on his face at the remembrance. He'd flown the majority of time towards the Orange Archipelago - it had been mentioned most recently as a good place for sightings - and spotted Ice Island shrouded in cloud.

He had felt Articuno's presence only a few minutes later upon descent through the chilly air. The guardian's strength had loomed from below; deep and bestial and yet unmistakably calculating. Mewtwo had halted slightly at the eerie feeling of a stranger's power not so much touching his mind but simply enveloping it in mental ice.

Articuno may not have been psychic, but it did not matter really; Mewtwo could tell how strong it was anyway. He'd made contact.

~Freezing One.~

Articuno had reacted by crying out to him in a strange haunting tone and flapping its way towards him.

_Articuno's language was this song, and I will remember it forever. I learned something very important that day, Amber, which was further concreted in my visits to Fire and Lightning Islands. I am unique also in the sense that I am not so much a protector and guardian of my home in Fiore as it is a protector - a refuge, if you will - for me. This is different to other legendaries such as these Winged Mirages, who through an innate instinct seemingly born with them are moved to fiercely protect their territory against harm. Of course, this does not mean I would not defend the Seer Repository with all my strength if it was ever threatened, but that I came to it not as a guardian per se. I find it much easier to leave it physically than I found it would be for Articuno to leave Ice Island. _

_So is my idea of a Council flawed? The Winged Mirages were - once they learned I had not arrived to do them battle for their much prized territory - friendly enough (barring Zapdos, who was, putting it lightly, impetuously aggressive), but apart from conceding it would be wise for an alliance I did not get much else from them. Perhaps..._

_No. No, that is foolish thought. All I needed from them was fact of their existence, and knowledge of their minds - and I have both. I could call to them all from here right now, and they would hear me even if they could not reply. That is Council enough... for now. _

_Oh, Amber, the things I have read and learned. The legends surrounding the mythical pokémon of Johto are fascinating. My quest continues onwards as I head towards the forests of this region in search of the guardian who protects them. I believe I have met them once before, but we merely brushed minds before departing. I do have a name however - Celebi - to go on, and believe it won't take much time to make contact. Time, of course, being the key word here, as it's rumoured Celebi can manipulate it. I cannot wait to find out if this is actually the case. Imagine what could be done with that ability! _

_And so with that thought I journey onwards. _

_In memory, _

_Mewtwo_

* * *

CELEBI

Celebi flew back through the rippling time stream towards her own timeline with a proud beam on her impish face. Taking Pikachutwo back in time couldn't have gone better if she'd actually done any reconnaissance work beforehand. The Raichu turning up - brilliant! Almost as if he'd been instructed to be there befo-

Had she possibly influenced the situation later on and not remembered? It was certainly possible - future memories were faint at best for the most part, and quite rare. Occasionally she'd have an inkling of what had to be done to bring the future memory to fruition but mostly it was just trusting upon instinct and letting everything eventuate as it will. _Perhaps I should make plans to go back further than the first time and tell the Raichu to meet Pikachutwo when I take her back. Or maybe-_

**LITTLE GREEN ONE**

The force of the summons buffeted her rudely past the last few seconds of time stream travel and she fell back into her own time headfirst, wings flitting furiously for lift.

Who in the world had that been?

**I SEE YOU**

The words made her head pound and her eyes tear up. Blearily, she made sure she was safely back fully at the Relic Stone, then sat at its base, raising a hand to her quivering antennae.

~Who is this?~ she sent back. ~And can you speak a little softer, please?~

**I AM THE LORD OF TIME, DIALGA, AND I DO NOT TAKE KINDLY TO MY SERVANTS TAMPERING WITH THE PAST TO THIS EXTENT. **

~What?~ Celebi squawked. ~Servants?!~ Mouth grim, she shot back into the air, ignoring the sudden headache. ~I am Celebi, the Voice of the Forest, and nobody's servant!~ Mind racing and quickly growing irate, she cast her mind towards the source of the bellowing voice but found the way closed off to her. Who was Dialga, anyway? Lord of Time? _She_ was the time traveller. Flora and time energy were intrinsically connected, after all. Time Flowers, Voice of the Forest... she was the living embodiment of the symbiotic relationship her trees had to the power of time.

**SENDING A POKÉMON BACK AND LEAVING IT THERE PERMANENTLY IS PROHIBITED. YOU WILL GO BACK NOW AND RETRIEVE THE POKÉMON BEFORE THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF THIS THOUGHTLESS MEDDLING ARE TO BE FELT IN YOUR TIME, PERHAPS RENDERING YOU UNABLE TO FIX IT FROM THEN ON. HURRY. **

~I'll do no such thing,~ she growled. ~It's not meddling, not tampering; it's helping. I'm perfectly within my rights to help a pikachu find a proper home.~

** THAT PIKACHU WAS NOT EVEN MEANT TO EXIST IN THE PRESENT, SO IT IS CERTAINLY NOT MEANT TO EXIST IN THE DISTANT PAST!** Dialga roared.

~Not... meant to exist...?~ Celebi shook her head violently. ~Why don't you come down here and say that?~

Then, ~Celebi? Are you there?~

After the painful barrage of mental roars, the extremely faint psychic call barely alerted her to another telepathic pokémon's mental voice - one whom she thought she recognised from somewhere.

~Mewtwo?~ she asked in surprise. ~Yes, I'm here.~

~Are you in Johto?~

~No, I'm on a business trip out of the region.~ she said, and attempted to strengthen the psychic link between them. ~Feel free to come and help me talk some sense into some self-proclaimed lord of time.~

~Lord of Time? The one in the Sinnoh Story of Origin?~ She felt Mewtwo's instant acknowledgement through the link and turned her attention back to the physical, just as a massive head and neck broke through the fabric of reality and surged through the air towards her, maw open and teeth bared.

* * *

MEWTWO

Mewtwo used the strong link between him and Celebi to focus a very careful teleport to her location. He felt he'd never been there before, which would normally make it impossible. He aimed for a large area of hopefully empty space next to Celebi's form and teleported away...

... only to come face to face with the furious gaze of what he presumed was Dialga; in the flesh. The creator of time itself.

According to the story, anyway.

Celebi floated next to him, eyes even wider than normal. ~So that's what you look like.~ she said to Dialga, as it hovered deathly still in front of her, its mouth opened menacingly yet not even seeming to be breathing. ~But if you're just trying to intimidate me, know that I'm perfectly capable of calling upon this forest to aid me in battle.~

~Celebi,~ Mewtwo said gently. ~Dialga's not spoken of as a psychic telepathic pokémon, I don't think it can answer you-~

**IT IS NOT MEANT TO EXIST. **

~Aargh!~ Mewtwo yelled, hands instinctively raising to his ear horns. ~What kind of telepathy is that?~

**HIDDEN,** Dialga said, and for the first time Celebi heard emotion in its voice. Smugly, Dialga arched its neck up and hovered downwards carefully in the limited space of Relic Forest. **I CAME DOWN HERE AND SAID IT. NOW, GO AND RETRIEVE THE PIKACHU. **

~Hidden? More like hideous.~ Mewtwo said. ~No offence intended, of course, Lord of Time, but how are you actually communicating like that?~

**I SPEAK WITH THE POWER OF TIME. **

_Just as Zapdos had communicated to me with its power of electricity. Both are pretty much as painful as the other..._ Mewtwo thought, as Celebi turned towards him in the air, eyebrows furrowed.

~Don't call it the Lord of Time.~ she said. ~That's my jurisdiction.~

**YOU ARE MERELY A GUARDIAN OF THE TIME STREAMS,** Dialga continued calmly, **AND WATCHER OF THE TIME ENERGY OF THIS WORLD'S FORESTS. YOU CAN ONLY MOVE THROUGH TIME. I, HOWEVER, CONTROL TIME ITSELF. I HAVE BEEN AWARE OF YOU FOR A VERY LONG WHILE, LITTLE GREEN ONE, AND WATCHING CAREFULLY. YOU HAVE FLUTTERED GENTLY AND SOFTLY UNTIL NOW, AND I HAVE BEEN GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO CORRECT THE SMALL PARADOXES YOU CREATED UNKNOWINGLY. BUT THIS... IS TOO MUCH. YOU WILL BRING A TORNADO DOWN UPON US, I CAN FEEL IT. **

~Paradoxes?~ Celebi spluttered, her buzzing wings the only physical sound Mewtwo could still hear above the ringing in his brain from Dialga's mental deluge. ~You go too far!~ She began to glow luminescent green, eyes shining with power.

~Pardon me, Celebi,~ Mewtwo said, casting a longer look at his surroundings. ~but this is evidently a place of serenity and peace, and I come to you both with a call to ally, not war against each other.~

Celebi had the graciousness to look abashed as she let the potential attack silently dissipate. As mental silence fell, the cloying physical stillness became far more apparent; as well as a strange, faint twittering sound from deep in the forest around them tickling his ears. Mewtwo took a deep breath and took a moment to wonder where in the world they were. It was a different type of energy in the clearing, that was for sure; seemingly emanating from the large stone structure built up in the centre. _I wonder what would happen if I touched it... _

~I wish to create a Council of guardians.~ Mewtwo continued. ~Connected mentally, allowing us to better protect this world together.~

Dialga's face remained impassive, but at least its mouth had closed.

~I have already spoken to many guardians, and today I ask that you, Celebi, guardian of the time streams and Johto's forests, officially join us.~

Celebi had a finger to her mouth. ~I have no future memory of this one at all.~ she said, suddenly vaguely. ~Dialga, does the Council happen?~

**TIME RUNS OUT. **

The Time Lord raised a clawed front hoof and stamped the invisible surface it hovered upon just a metre above the ground. **RETRIEVE THE PIKACHU! NOW! **

~No! If you want her back so badly, get her yourself!~

Quicker than Mewtwo had thought possible, Dialga swung its head towards Celebi and growled wordlessly at her.

~What, you can't?~ Celebi said, an impish not-quite-nice smile on her face, not looking at all intimidated by its closeness. ~Oh, I see; so you control time, but time controls you right back. Some Lord you are.~

Dialga had no opportunity to reply to Celebi's taunt. The air began shining, then flashed pink. Mew stepped out of nowhere at Mewtwo's right hand side, mentally holding two other pokémon in the air behind her.

~You're here too?~ Mewtwo said in surprise. ~And...~

Gods. One of the other pokémon was Pikachutwo, a strange searching look in her expression as she gazed at him. The other was a healthy looking raichu. Last time he had seen Pikachutwo, she had been altered; turned to the shadows. Now, thankfully, she looked back to normal. With a pang, the psychic pokémon realised he'd completely forgotten her plight in amidst his own, and had neglected to go looking for her after his own purification. _I am the worst kind of creature indeed... _

To Mewtwo's surprise, Celebi reacted even stronger at the sight of Pikachutwo and the raichu. ~What are _they_ doing back here in this _when_?~ she demanded, looking afraid. ~How did you...?~

~Dialga's right - time's running out. Celebi, you must join the Council, right now. It's imperative.~

~Well, of course I will, but-~

~Good, we thankfully welcome you.~ Mew said in relief. ~Now truly begins the Game of Time!~

Celebi grimaced in her direction. ~Time is not a _game_, Mew.~

**THIS IS YOUR FAULT,** Dialga said, and started to shudder, its eyes slowly squinting closed. **SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG. I FEEL... SOMEONE, SOMETHING, HAS CREATED A TEMPORAL CAUSALITY LOOP...**

A strange whistling noise interrupted the legendary's dire words, steadily growing louder. Dialga's head arced up straight as it turned its attention to the sky. Then without any more warning the small missile hit home, billowing smoke in its explosion, and the Time Lord screamed pain and fury.

The impact blew the other guardians back through the air. Mewtwo sought hazy confirmation that Mew still had a hold of Pikachutwo and the raichu, then watched from the borders of the forest as Dialga's body became enclosed in a dark sphere of energy.

_Team Rocket?_ he wondered, long-forgotten anger quick to resurface as Dialga's roar turned from outrage to suffering. _I would not be surprised to find them at the bottom of this... _

He flew upwards, out of the enclosed area, and surveyed the open sky. Before long he spotted the hateful craft hovering a small distance away. But it was not Giovanni at its helm, rather a young woman with one hand on her hip, the other on the wheel.

Lovrina.

Mewtwo snarled. _Why didn't I kill you when I had the chanc- No. No, no more killing._ He swooped back down and without hesitation fired a shadow ball right at the crackling sphere surrounding Dialga. The attack passed right through it and hit the legendary instead, prompting another pained roar.

~Sorry.~ Mewtwo said softly, trying not to let his sudden perturbation get the better of him. Before him stood the beginnings of his great and powerful Council, after all. Surely they could save this situation from becoming any worse.

Mew was already at Dialga's side, looking intensely at the field surrounding it. Pikachutwo and the raichu had at some point - perhaps when Mewtwo had been surveying the air - been put down on the ground, and were now huddling together on the Relic Stone.

Mew's tail lashed, then she clenched her fists and flames of pink began flickering around her body; but before she could attack the aircraft drew near enough to cast a shadow over the entire clearing and began slowly lowering closer.

Dialga shuddered again, its normally powerful stance starting to fold in on itself inside the energy ball. Then as Mewtwo and Mew watched its eyelids flew open and it lashed out with what felt like a last desperate gambit: raw frantic power; smashing the sphere and dissipating it entirely.

**TIME...** Dialga bellowed, gasping for breath. **TIME IS BREAKING... FRACTURING... **

Someone was gripping Mewtwo's wrist. He looked down and saw Celebi holding on tightly as she stared at Dialga.

~Look at it...~ she said. ~Look at its diamond.~

**GRRRR... IT HURTS SO BADLY...**

~I have a really bad feeling about this.~ Celebi said.

Mewtwo looked. Dialga's diamond orb at the centre of its chest was pulsating a deep red-orange colour, and its normally shimmering aqua patterns on its skin had turned to deep orange. They looked wrong against the normal dark blue of its body.

**DESTROY ME, WILL YOU? I WON'T LET YOU!** Dialga roared, and slowly its head turned, ever so slowly, until it was resting directly at Celebi and Mewtwo in kind. Mewtwo looked in Dialga's eyes and saw sheer cunning malevolence - and yet, a desperate unthinking violence.

~No...~ Celebi whispered. ~This _can't_ be happening again. We have to leave.~

~I'm not going anywhere.~ Mewtwo said harshly. ~Some of the strongest pokémon in the region are gathered right here. We can manage this.~

From the aircraft, Lovrina's amplified voice floated down. "My beautiful XD003! Roar for me!"

**YOU! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, HUMAN! YOU'LL ALL PAY FOR THIS! **

Dialga turned his head again and roared silently into the sky, straight at the craft. The sound/time wave buffeted its metal frame like turbulence; Mewtwo could hear the creaking from where he stood. As he watched, Lovrina cried out into the microphone again, but the sound distorted just as the craft began to visually warp and distort as well until it had vanished into thin air.

~I don't believe it.~ Celebi said. ~I think... Dialga forced it back in time. But I didn't think it could do that...~

The Time Lord was growling low and menacingly as it turned its attention to the other guardians clustered around him. Then without warning it stamped a foot and howled another vicious time roar into the entire space around them.

~Run!~ yelled Celebi, and flitted to the left. But it was too late. Dialga was gone, and the rippling trees around him had turned their leaves to yellow, then back to green in mere seconds as Mewtwo watched. Somehow, they seemed to be growing as well. Or... was he shrinking? With a start, he looked down at his hands and saw them becoming pudgier, younger, less worn. _So, I'm going back in time and my body is as well? _

Mewtwo grew younger and younger in the space of a breath as the sunsets flew past him in the wrong direction. He looked up with startled eyes for Celebi, but she was gone too as Dialga had vanished. His gaze flicked around in panic until he noticed only Mew was left, still on the other side of the clearing. She was reaching for him, so he reached for her too. Somehow their progress towards each other seemed so slow compared to how scarily young he was becoming. His body felt even younger now than it had when he had awoken in his dream world so long ago and met Amber.

_What happens when..._ It hardly bore thinking about. In desperation he made one final stretch and his now barely formed paw met with Mew's. She smiled at him, and as their hands had touched so did their minds.

_I'll protect you, my son. No matter what... I'll protect you. _

Mew drew him in physically and held his rapidly shrinking form to her chest. Mewtwo felt her enclose his consciousness within her own, the two motions - one physical, the other mental - syncing up perfectly. He felt so perfectly shielded like this he hardly noticed as his body grew foetal, his previous limbs now barely nubs upon his jellybean body, and then shrunk completely out of sight.

_I've got you. _

Mew held his consciousness carefully to her. As linked as they were, Mewtwo could even vaguely hear her outermost thoughts, flitting past his own awareness. _What do I do now? How far back are we going? _

Mewtwo remained unperturbed. He now felt incredibly sleepy; and besides, Mew's thoughts were moving far too quickly to take any real notice of. _Goodnight, Mama,_ he said instinctively, and drifted off.

_Mama?!_ Mew yelped, still holding him - what remained of him - to her chest. Then... _That... actually might not be such a bad idea - bizarre as it is. I could protect you better, and... _

She looked around her at the rapidly changing landscape. Relic Forest had disappeared eons ago. The world around her was beginning to move into its own infancy, just as Mewtwo had.

_Why is it not affecting me?_ She had barely thought the question before the answer was clear to her. Of course - she didn't age like normal pokémon, so she naturally wouldn't age backwards as they did either.

Mew watched, silently, and saw things she had never imagined she would. The land had been slowly heading away from her as soon as they had become trapped in the violently misjudged roar of time, and from her vantage point Mew could not see very much at all, but somehow she still could feel as the legendary titans of earth and water did battle not very far from her location at all. As they vanished from her awareness, others faded in.

_Stop it now,_ she pleaded. She'd gone far back enough. She had no desire to see-

And yet it continued. A million sunrises and sunsets. Something looming far above her and looking down with beady eye - _unmaking the world around her._ But that wasn't right, was it? It was in reverse, so that meant-

The world was thus unmade, and yet Mew still existed. As did Mewtwo, cradled invisibly at her belly. And... something... someone...?

_The Time Lord does not even exist here yet, so why am I still going backwards? There is no more time to rewind, surely!_

A great flash in reverse; its dull dim light slowly growing in intensity until the brightest yellow flare, and then dying completely.

That someone. _Stay with me,_ Mew pleaded, as the entire world began exploding red and orange backwards around her. She shut her eyes, and felt not so much confirmation but the briefest whisper of the same, with no clue as to whether she'd merely imagined it. Mew kept her eyes shut until finally the silent subtle rushing of time power faded and was replaced with a gentle yet hot breeze and the strange sounds of a completely alien environment.

A time before time began.

_And I can't even be scared about it even if I tried. _

* * *

LOVRINA

Lovrina came to on the floor of her aircraft, blinking away headachy tears. She sat up quickly, taking stock. Her entire crew remained where they'd been moments before her XD003 had shown off its power to her, but most of them still looked unconscious. A grin slunk onto her face, and she skipped up onto her feet, running to the dashboard and its wide window. "My beautiful XD- huh?"

The craft had crash-landed at some point, snapping off a wing and burying it nearly entirely in sand a few metres from the cockpit. As Lovrina stared out of the window, her mouth slowly dropping open, a fierce gust of wind grabbed a big pile of sand and lashed it against the metal side.

Where were they? Where was her XD003?

The girl whimpered, pouting. "Captain!" she shrilled. "What's going on?"

Her Captain was groaning, slumped in a chair close by. "That was the legendary roar of time. We've time travelled: forwards, or backwards - I can't really tell. We're in real trouble now, missy."

"Nuh-uh." Lovrina said. "Some people will help us."

The Captain shook his head. "Some people? We don't even know if there _are_ even other people out there."

She tromped away. He stared vaguely out the window, uncaring, as she pried the emergency door open and ventured outside.

_Some time later..._

"Yoo hoo!"

A teenaged Wesley Williams threw his custom-built motorbike into neutral as he came to a stop halfway between Pyrite and Phenac, and stared in amazement at the pink haired teenager waving furiously on top of a tall sand dune. Further from her he noticed a wreck of what looked to be a high-tech plane. _Interesting..._ He revved the bike's engines and chucked it back into gear, manoeuvring it slowly towards her location. As he drew up closer one of his two eevee, sitting primly at his side, flattened her ears and growled at her.

"Auvan!" he said in a disapproving tone, yet secretly wondering why she'd reacted so strongly like that. Auvan was normally a great judge of character. So was Vee, her elder brother, for that matter; but he normally kept it to himself.

_How to play this?_

"Is anyone hurt?" he asked, motioning at the wreck. "Dead?"

"Mmph." she answered, with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's every girl for themselves now."

This made Wes laugh in astonishment. "And here I was thinking you'd _have_ to be a tourist, but not with that cut-throat attitude."

"How's that?"

Wes put on his best evil grin and gave the throttle a quick twist with his hand. "Locals hear this engine in the distance and tend to shut their doors, not give me a wave."

"So, you're a bad boy, huh?"

"Depends. Any pokéballs on that outfit anywhere? Any free roaming pokémon on board the plane?"

Lovrina shook her head, and Wes sighed in obvious disappointment. "Then I guess I'll have to be good. C'mon, jump on and I'll give you a ride to Phenac City."

Luckily, Auvan kept her cool as she snuggled up to Vee and allowed Lovrina to take her normal place at the side. The turbo engines threw up gritty sand as they charged off, leaving the plane behind in the stifling heat of the desert.

Lovrina had her hands over her ears, and was staring out into the distance. Wes took the opportunity to make contact with his base of operations at Team Snagem HQ. "Unidentified aircraft spotted five k's south-east of Phenac City."

His radio crackled in response. "Any survivors?"

"That's up to you."

* * *

SPARKLING

_"Sparkling!"_ Chur yelled, holding her closely to him as he quavered on the base of the Relic Stone. _"What's going on? I'm afraid!"_

Sparkling looked up at the raging Dialga and the other legendaries with gritted teeth and frowning eyebrows. The whole time had been a blur ever since she'd been granted a name and confessed to Chur that she was from the future. What was it Chur had said?

_"So am I."_

But then he'd stopped, and looked highly confused at what he'd just said. Sparkling had been just as confused - and shocked - but she'd had no time to even enquire after more details.

For Celebi had reappeared in front of them, grabbed both of them by a paw and pulled them back into a raging time stream. Chur had screamed high and long, but Sparkling felt more like yelling in anger. Couldn't she just have her peace now without being dragged about constantly by everyone? For once she'd felt relaxed in herself and her environment - only to have this happen without one word of explanation.

They'd whirled out of the time stream, and Mew had been there to take them further without any word as well. Mew had grasped them mentally and winked them out, and the next thing Sparkling knew she was staring right at Mewtwo and another Celebi - seemingly from another time for she'd reacted quite differently, as if she hadn't known at all they were back in the future - still under Mew's mental grasp until the pink legendary set them down gently and went to attend to Dialga.

Which brought them to now - both completely at a loss. Chur was probably more so than her, though, and she felt so sorry for him. He looked terrified, not only at the raging battle above them but the height of the domineering Relic Stone and the trees around them. He couldn't keep his gaze on one thing, kept flicking his head around and flinching at each in turn. _What a shock it must be to travel into the future,_ she thought.

Then Dialga roared and the whole world fell apart. There was a thundering in her ears like the silent memory of an earthquake, things were vanishing before her very eyes and Chur's hug was shrinking. She looked at him, her only constant in this now madly shifting world, and in horror saw he wasn't constant either - he was now turning into a pikachu.

She gaped at him, and he gaped at her back. _"You're devolving."_ she whispered.

_"So are you."_ he said in a voice of dread. _"I'm not... I'm not doing that to you, am I?"_ In one motion he snatched his hands away from her and stepped away.

_"NO!"_ Sparkling cried, and took his paw again. She looked down at her own paw - it was not even fingered any longer. She let out a little mew of horror. _"What am I?"_

Chur took her back into a warm hug. _"You're a pichu again."_ he said woodenly.

Again? She'd never been a pichu before. Chur wasn't to know that, of course. What's it like to be even smaller than a pikachu? I wonder what it feels like for Chur to be a pikachu again? Then...

_"You've stopped, but it's still happening to me..."_ he said.

Sparkling looked at him in shock. His pikachu ears were rounding out and he was shrinking further, now unable to fully enfold her in one of his comforting hugs she'd begun to enjoy. As they clasped each other like anchors, Chur too devolved until he was her height, his eyes closed at the sensation.

As she watched, he nervously opened one eye halfway. _"Has it stopped?"_

_"Yes."_ Sparkling replied in relief. _"We're both pichu now."_

Chur opened the other eye and looked at the flitting, reversing landscape. It seemed to be slowing down, but it still made him whimper before he looked back at Sparkling. Amazingly, a hesitant smile began slowly creeping onto his juvenile face. _"I like your ear."_ he said.

Something was odd about her ear? Something was definitely odd about him, too, but Sparkling couldn't quite place it yet. She looked down at her belly and then his, at her paws, and then his. Then it clicked. _"I like your fur colour - a lot."_ she said honestly.

They both smiled at each other, then Sparkling found her smile widening into a broad grin. Faced with the discrimination and mental pain of cloning? Nothing doing. Unsure of her place in world - boring! Time travel and uncontrollable devolution? _That's_ more like it! Bring it on!

_"It's our magical mystery tour!"_ she piped, and began to giggle. _"Next stop, the distant past!"_

Chur stared at her in worry. _"You're completely mad!"_

Time slowed, stopped, and without any further ado began playing in the right direction at a normal rate. Chur fell to his knees - the gesture looking to Sparkling completely ridiculous in pichu form - and sank one cheek to the grass in abject relief. _"We're still alive..."_

Sparkling sniffed dismissively. _"Of course we are."_ She grabbed one of his paws and raced off, Chur wailing as he was tugged reluctantly behind her. _"Let's go explore!"_

* * *

PALKIA

The great Space Lord opened a lazy eye at the disturbance. **I WAS SLEEPING,** it said gruffly, and opened a portal into the air above Relic Forest. **COME, BROTHER. CEASE THIS NOW. **

**TIME IS CORRUPTED!** Dialga bellowed, and blasted the circle with another savage roar of time. But there was nobody else there any longer to force backwards in time.

Palkia paused as it noticed Dialga's primal state. Then it casually reached into another, smaller, portal and drew out a squirming pink celebi in a careful claw hold.

~Oh.~ the pink celebi said.

**IS THE MYSTERY SPACE READY? **

The celebi gritted her teeth. ~It'll have to be. There's no way we're letting it stay in this space to do any more damage.~

**AGREED. **

Palkia began preparing a spacial rend attack, and the celebi backed away. The Space Lord noticed this and grunted in her direction.

The celebi chuckled. ~No offence, but you're horribly imprecise with that attack.~

**NONE TAKEN,** Palkia said, and blasted primal Dialga right in the face, casting it beyond; into the mysterious space. **YOU'RE THE ONE WHO HAS TO DEAL WITH IT NOW**

~Obliged, I'm sure.~ muttered the celebi.


	3. Chapter 2: Refusal of the Call

LOVRINA

Phenac City was at its most glorious in the balmy sweet air of spring. After pulling up at its grand stone entranceway the boy on the bike had not deigned to enter the city with her, choosing to stay mounted whilst she had hopped off and given a desultory wave. The two eevee had hissed at her departure, their teeth bared, but the sound had been completely drowned out by the loud idling of the engine so she had ignored them completely. She'd only taken a few steps away when he'd roared away again, dust clouds and exhaust fumes billowing in his wake.

_Every girl for themselves… _she'd reminded herself.

Now as she sat on the ledge overlooking the circular building in the city's centre, Lovrina took a deep breath of far cleaner air with satisfaction, letting her lungs fill to what seemed like just beyond their capacity, and then as she exhaled everything which had been clouded over in her past life made perfect sense now. All those seemingly unanswerable questions answered themselves in a split second.

Lovrina grinned toothily, letting the realisation wash over her alongside the warm wind off the hot stone footpath.

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better…"

Pens and paper were rare in the Orre of long-ago, it seemed. The store person in the supermarket had shrugged at her when she'd asked, an exaggerated rueful look on his face. But the young teen figured she'd find some eventually. There was enough proof of the fact in her memories. She practically had the old faded letter memorised word for word:

_Lovrina, _

_You don't know me yet, but you will in time. And yet, who I am makes no difference. What matters is that I know you. _

_I also know that by the time you read this the Shadow Pokémon Lab's location will be lost to the sands of time… almost. I know where it is, and I can tell you where to find it. Then you can use what resources you find there to continue my fabulous work. _

_I suppose I really should start from the beginning. You see, sweetie, there's this old team called Cipher who I'm going to teach how to create what's called Shadow Pokémon, only they will make a boo-boo with it and get my instructions wrong. Silly little boys… _

_So I want you to find the lab when you're grown up, and resurrect Cipher. Find a place to build a new lab. Continue my work to create an ultimate Shadow Pokémon which can never be purified. Use the surviving data on XD001 as a basis for your work and create XD002; the ultimate Extra Dark Shadow Pokémon. _

Lovrina paused at the memory and found she couldn't remember the rest. But it didn't matter; she'd done everything important in the letter. She'd found the abandoned lab in Orre, retrieved the existing data, and worked so hard to create XD002.

_I am my own self-fulfilling prophecy. _There was no way to escape this loop or else create a huge paradox - had she not written the letter, there would be no XD002. Had there been no XD002, there would be no XD003, no roar of time, no way to find herself stranded in Orre's past to create XD001 and write that letter to her future self to create XD002.

She pouted, raising a hand to her head. "This is too hard…" she whined. Her past self was in her future whilst her future self - herself right now - was in her past. In order to see the future play out properly, she'd have to stay out of trouble yet find a way to start pulling some serious strings within the original Cipher until she would have the resources and capability to create XD001.

And yet all her extra dark projects - past and future - had failed. 001, 002 _and_ 003. The future - her younger self - would always fail. But in the past, which was here in her new present… was it possible XD001 could be a success?

Could time be rewritten?

What had she done wrongly? Why _had_ XD001 failed?

It was time to start finding out… and in the process write a better end to the letter addressed to her younger self.

"That's _so_ why I can't remember the end of the letter." Lovrina said loudly, accidentally attracting the curious attention of a young trainer jogging around the water fountain, his castform whizzing close behind. She caught his eye, gave a quick wink and giggled. "Because I haven't _cast _its _form_ yet."

_But I will… in time. _

CELEBI

Celebi barely dodged Dialga's wild attack with one more desperate flit of her delicate wings backwards into the thicker tree cover. She clung to a tree trunk in exhaustion, watching as one by one each pokémon still trapped inside the spherical mess of time energy vanished silently, leaving only Dialga.

Until a new, just-as-intimidating behemoth stepped through into the space from nowhere and brought a-

Another Celebi?

_I'm Celebi! _How… how could there be _another_ Celebi? Even with a different coloured skin. Another her? That…

Speechless, she watched and waited and listened to the vague rumble of what almost felt like a far-off thunderstorm. The guardian she did not know attacked Dialga with a large beam of energy cast from its palm and blasted it away. In time? She did not know. But the self-professed Lord of Time was gone, all the same. That gave her courage to vault softly off the trunk and take to the air again, inching closer.

The low sound of a thunderstorm turned into booming words the closer she got to the odd pair:

… TO DEAL WITH IT NOW.

~Obliged, I'm sure.~

HM? said the big one, and the pair of them were suddenly looking straight at her.

Celebi had not realised how close she had been hovering. She almost disappeared back into the trees but consciously stood her ground after the tiny moment of hesitation.

~Your voice is not the same.~ she said. ~As mine, I mean.~

The pink coloured Celebi - the other her - physically shook off its surprise and smiled at her kindly. ~Hello. Don't you know who I am?~

~No, I mean… you're me, but…~

IT IS GREEN.

Celebi frowned. ~Of course I'm green. That's just what I'm meant to be.~

The pink Celebi flew down closer towards her. ~No, she means you're _green; _not about your skin colour - even though you are that, too - but that you're… hmm. Unenlightened.~

~_Thanks_.~ Celebi said frostily.

The pink Celebi tsked in frustration. ~Oh, Palkia, I just can't do post-initiation right at _all! _See why I prefer the mystery space?

IT IS TOO NEW, Palkia said. IT IS… JUST BUDDED. IT HAS JUST OPENED ITS LEAVES TO THE SUN FOR THE FIRST TIME TO BLOOM.

~That was very beautiful.~

THANK YOU.

~Excuse me!~ Celebi said. ~How is there another Celebi - you? How is that possible?~

~Call me Dianthus. Do you have a name yet?~

~Celebi.~

Dianthus laughed sweetly. ~Oh, yes, you are very newly budded, aren't you? Holding onto your guardianship name like a flabébé to its flower. I'd recommend choosing a personal name soon, otherwise things are going to get very confusing around here for you.~

~Things are already very confusing.~ Celebi said.

~Try remembering back to your initiation rite. I'm sure it won't be long until the truth will be made clear.~ Dianthus replied, and looked to Palkia. ~Time for me to return to the mystery space, I think - now we've got a shadow dialga rampaging around. Besides, we need him brought back to his senses as quickly as possible so he can return here.~

Palkia nodded. AGREED.

~I-initiation rite?~

Dianthus looked back at Celebi, a distracted look on her face. Then her focus sharpened and she smiled ruefully. ~I'm probably going to get scolded for this, but…~ She flew down and circled the stone structure a few times slowly, then paused, hovering.

Her arms began waving gracefully through the air, and Celebi swooped down towards her. As she watched, a glittering pink and blue sprout looped out of the earth and began twining its way around the stone, growing thicker all the while. Offshoots clasped the pockmarked stone, expanding and finally budding at their ends; till the plant encircled the entire Relic Stone.

~Do you know what this is?~ asked Dianthus.

~That's a time plant.~ Celebi counted quickly. ~I make it four mature time flowers.~

Dianthus beamed. ~Good.~ She finished with a long sweep of her right arm bringing the fifth and largest time flower into being, inclined her head politely to Celebi, and then catapulted back into the higher reaches of air with an exultant laugh. ~It has been too long! All the same. Palkia, if you would be so kind?~

Palkia grasped her carefully with a large clawed hand and just before Dianthus disappeared into thin air back the way she'd arrived. Celebi heard her say, ~Only waken one at a time,~ then she was gone.

GOOD LUCK, LITTLE SPROUT, Palkia said.

Celebi started to raise her hand in a gesture of farewell but then faltered halfway as the huge guardian nonchalantly turned and opened a much larger hole in the fabric of reality. She stared at the rent, unable to look away for even a moment; her skin prickling in response, her mouth beginning to gape.

Palkia stepped through, the hole closed, and Celebi was finally able to blink again and look away, her eyes watering. What had that been?

That question paled in comparison to all her other questions about Dianthus. She wasted no time in flying back down and alighting on the grass facing the first, smallest, and lowest time flower. Just as Celebi knew what they were, she also knew how to bring their ability to the fore.

_One at a time_, she repeated, and brushed her fingers across the glittering petals. With that one subtle touch the flower awakened, tinkling pleasantly and softly, and opened its petals to expose the glowing time energy sphere inside; infused already with the past. The sphere rose and with a flash it expanded a hundred times its original size, casting a grey pallor around the whole clearing and bringing another image into focus.

An image of a past event, a past memory.

But whose memory was it? Surely not this Celebi from the past which was about half her size and buzzing about in circles above her without any sort of rhyme or reason -

_That's a celeva_, _of course_, she reminded herself, _my pre-evolved form. Wait, what? I don't have a pre-evolved form. Since when did… I've always had a pre-evolved form. Then why don't I remember evolving? I must have evolved, but… _

She watched silently as the celeva looped about, squealing softly in happiness. Celebi's mouth unconsciously quirked into a half-smile at its joyous antics, each one more wild than the last; until the celeva whirred down towards her still standing on the ground and flew through her. Celebi flinched at the eerie feeling of the unsubstantial celeva shade making a visual, but not physical, impact.

Then something unexpectedly bubbled up from her and she began laughing in surprise and happiness. Spontaneously, she jumped up into the air, wings pushing with full force, ready to meet this celeva in the air and dance through the sky with it. Its joy was absolutely infectious.

She was just about to reach its current height when she heard a small rushing sound and the double image before her faded, leaving just one with its empty, silent sky. She looked downwards and saw the time flower closed, asleep; too far a distance between her and it to keep the past alive.

_Ah well. _There were many more flowers to examine.

She flew back down to touch the next one. This time the celeva was sky dancing at night, its tail bulb glittering and pulsing with small flashes of yellow light. It was soon joined in the sky by a swarm of ledyba and a few protective ledian at the swarm's head, but Celebi stayed hovering by the stone this time; too entranced and enchanted to wish the image disappear prematurely. The stars high above dimmed in comparison to the light show, until - too soon it seemed - the sky of the past became light with dawn. The swarm soon departed and the celeva waved goodbye, a satisfied piping sound echoing down, and the time flower slowly closed without any prompting.

_Was that me? It must have been me. How come I don't remember any of this? This all happened. To me? To Celebi? These do not answer any of my questions to Dianthus. How… how… _

The third time flower opened the same way, but no orb of time energy appeared. Ah, a flower yet to make a memory. Celebi pressed on, circling round the Relic Stone alongside the vine's upwards progress.

The fourth brimmed with time energy when it was awakened. Celebi gaped at the image of a dozen celeva - a dozen hers - holding hands and swirling through the air in a circle, surrounding a celeva and a celebi hovering in the middle, their hands grasped in each other's, their eyes closed in concentration.

_There have always been many celeva, of course. Of course. But… wait, that doesn't make sense- _

The lone celeva straightened, its body taut. Its eyes flashed open. Letting the celebi's hands go time energy soon blasted seemingly into it and yet out at the same time. Its body glowed with the energy, beams of light lancing from its fingers, and then when it screamed Celebi snatched her hand away from the flower, casting the image away. Forever.

Both her hands were trembling by this stage. _Why can't I remember this? Why should I need a time flower to show me my life? This makes no sense, I don't understand any of it-_

She looked up at the last and largest time flower, nestled up close to the flat top of the relic, and she was not sure whether she could bear going near it. The sheer need to know its contents soon overcome the fear and uncertainty however, and so she sat on the top of the stone pillar and held out a shaking hand.

_The celeva stood at ease in front of the celebi, ready and attentive. The celebi was holding a large pink flower in its hand; holding it out to the celeva. _

Which one is me? Am I both?

_~I don't think I need to explain what this means,~ the celebi said. _

_The celeva shook its head silently and inclined its head as it solemnly took the flower. ~If that I could give it back to show my own gratitude.~_

_Chuckling at this, the celebi also bowed slightly. ~You have shown you are worthy, but as always with extra responsibility comes extra hardship.~ It paused. ~Keep the flower; as I kept mine. It is a good and constant reminder.~ _

_The celeva nodded, looking down seriously at its petals. ~A reminder of the honour you've given me?~_

_~Well, yes; that… and more.~ _

_The celebi's dire words made the celeva look up sharply from the flower, a half surprised look on its face. _

_~Initiation is not a decision to make lightly. If you wish, you may still give the flower back. Just know this, there are things you will learn, and they will change your life as much as your body - perhaps even more so. You will probably not want to know some of these things, and so you may cast them out; but they will make themselves known to you eventually… in time.~_

_The celeva nodded. It raised the flower and nestled it gently between its antennae before grasping the celebi's hands. ~I'm ready.~_

_~You're not,~ the celebi replied. ~Not yet, there is pre-initiation yet. You must be made aware of what will happen-~_

_~I've seen it happen _twice_. You evolve, the other celebi helps you into your first time pool and you sleep. Then eventually you wake up and come out rested to begin your duties. What else is there to be made aware of without actually beginning the rite?~_

_The celebi frowned. ~Evolution is not what I'd call painful, but all the same it's naturally very taxing upon the body; and new celebi are also affected very strongly mentally.~_

_~I was there when the shaymin was k-~_

_~Yes.~ the celebi said quickly. ~Yes, you have aptly demonstrated your ability to remain calm and level-headed in times of undeniable tragedy. This is partly why you were chosen.~_

_~I'm really ready,~ the celeva insisted. ~I want to help. I want to evolve and become a celebi.~_

_~Very well,~ the celebi replied, and so returned the firm squeeze upon the celeva's hands to begin. _

Celebi was gripping her own palms with her fingers so hard she did not notice the past begin to take shape inside her own head as a true memory and not one merely visual. The celebi's hands dwarfed her own immature celeva ones as she felt it was gathering power inside and around; soon to share it with her and prompt her evolution.

_I'm ready, _she thought again.

Then the celebi opened the floodgates to the intense power, and she realised that she could never have been truly ready, not even in a thousand years. Her hands and arms near to burning with the rushing power; she looked down and saw them growing larger even as she watched. As the celebi had said, it did not hurt, but at least the feeling of pain was identifiable. This was alien to her, and all the more unbearable for it.

She was screaming. How long had she been screaming? Her back arched in response to the energy coursing its way through every part of her body; she was glowing, her eyes were wider than they ever had been, and then as the energy began to slightly subside and she knew she was all physically celebi now, that was when her mind opened and released a new torrent of thought all its own.

She was this celebi, and that celebi, and the other celebi in the past, and yet again the many more in future, but she was not - she was just _this_ celebi in _this_ body, yet she could still _feel _them and _know _them and they felt like her, they were her. Yet they couldn't be her, and she couldn't be them. She had hardly been all the celeva after all. They were different, then why was she every celebi? How could she possibly cope being _every celebi in time?! _

~Celebi?~

The single word had her clamping her arms as best she could over her suddenly gigantic and heavy head, groaning. The word was loaded with everything the speaker had ever done in their lifetime. She had her eyes screwed up but still she was looking at herself because she was that celebi too yet she was this celebi and-

~You're doing fine.~ The words were firm and unyielding, yet calm. ~Reel it in.~

_I'm doing fine. Of course I'm doing fi-_

~No!~ she shrieked. _Don't try to make me feel something I don't want to! _~No, I'm not!~

~You are.~

Celebi whipped her hands from her head and balled them into fists. ~You didn't think it a good idea to perhaps tell me beforehand that celebi share a _hive mind?!~_

You do not have to remember it all at once. You know this now. Turn it down. You know how to do that now, too.~ the other celebi said. It gestured and a time pool opened in the air. ~Calm down, so your body and mind can rest.~

_I don't want to automatically know things I haven't personally learned myself! _Celebi felt this but could not even find the words to express it. To relieve the unbearable frustration she snatched the flower from her head and ripped it in half with a yell, letting the two pieces fall gently from them.

The pain and upset Celebi felt in response from the other celebi was so acute that in desperation she not only turned the feelings down but completely off, cutting the feeling of knowing every other celebi, cutting the extraneous knowledge. She was alone in her mind and it was blissful after the noise of before.

She did not look at the other celebi again - she did not want to see the expression on its face - but barrelled into the pool and sank into its timeless depths to sleep for once completely dreamlessly.

The flower closed. The past was over. Celebi came back to herself out of the memory, out of the past, to find herself rocking slightly in a seated foetal position on the stone's edge. Her eyes were burning dry, staring past the forest edge to something she couldn't see.

The truth had been made clear. _I was a fool to think I could handle the initiation rite, and I was a fool to awaken the time flowers. Twice I've rushed in too soon. Impatient fool! _

_All things come in threes. _

The saying was not one she'd thought up. So a stolen thought from another celebi, then. Disgusted, she squashed that part of her mind working to impart advice at her situation.

_I've run away from this before; shut it out completely. What's the point in doing that again? _The revolted feeling subsided a little and Celebi relented just a fraction as well. _So what do I do now, then? _Her mind buzzed and she knew straight away what she had to do. Was some other celebi moulding her mind to their will? Had she individually come up with this plan of action or had it been merely planted there in her mind?

_Either or, it is the right thing to do, _she told herself, and opened a time stream.

The other side opened out into a field of flowers. Celebi now remembered this place well from her days as a celeva, swooping around with dozens of sky form shaymin. But it looked like shaymin season had passed for this year; the place was eerily quiet, and the breeze was just a bit chillier than from memory. Winter was closing in slowly, the air falling off the icecapped mountains which loomed over the lush valley protectively and soon, perhaps, bringing snow with it.

And yet the flowers still remained in bloom. Celebi flew just above them, scanning the naturally formed beds with keen appreciation of their health and beauty. She spotted one newly formed, planted just outside one ring of pink, and honed in on it. Perfect.

The blossom practically plucked itself out of the ground.

_It's ready. I'm ready. _Celebi paused in her thoughts, holding the flower close to her chest. _I said that before, and I regretted it. _

_All things come in threes. _

_This is my third time of readiness. Will I regret this time as the last two? I won't know until it happens. _

Steeling herself, Celebi opened up another time stream; aimed further away. As she flew in she heard Dianthus's voice again:

_I'd recommend choosing a personal name soon._

Like the flower before, the name picked itself.

All that was left to do was to completely open her mind.

She was greeted with little happy twitters of mental excitement from the many celebi in time and space who were now able to feel her presence among them. _Congratulations! Welcome! _

The first celebi - the one she was searching for - was not amongst them, not yet, until she turned a corner in her mind and came mind to mind with her. The sensation and guilt struck her mute.

~You have returned,~ the celebi said impassively.

~I-~ Celebi started, and felt the other celebi's mind fade away before she could finish. She consciously drew away herself, back into her own physical environment and saw a time stream burst into being in the air before her. The celebi whirled out and seemingly tackled her out of the sky before grabbing her hands and swinging her around in circles; the gracidea flower she was still holding for dear life nodding its head in the wind.

"Bi bi bee!" the celebi cried joyously. Celebi couldn't believe the elation on its face.

~I'm so sorry!~ she said, blurting out her words. ~I really am!~

~I forgive you,~ the celebi replied instantly. ~Because you came back to us!~

Celebi slowed her rather giddy circling progress through the air and proffered her flower. ~This is for everything. Thank you.~

~What's your name?~ the other celebi asked as it gently took the flower and hugged it to its chest.

Celebi paused, and rethought. Yes, it definitely should be… ~G-grace.~

~From 'gracidea'?~

Celebi - Grace - nodded. ~Now it really will be a good and constant reminder.~

The celebi's eyes sparkled with pride. ~Mine is Aristea. Well met, Grace.~ She took Grace's hand with her free one and pulled her towards the time stream. ~Come, let's meet the others. It is time...~


End file.
